Mana Eesh J Gibneh Cheese Pastries Recipes

EASY CHEESE DANISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!
• Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.
• Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

EASY CHEESE DANISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper.
• Beat the whole egg with 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl; set aside.
• Beat the egg yolk, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth.
• Lay out the 2 sheets of puff pastry and cut each into 4 squares. Fold the corners of the squares over by about 1 inch to make octagon shapes. Spoon the cream cheese mixture evenly into the center of each (about 2 tablespoons per); do not spread the cream cheese. Brush all of the exposed pastry with the egg wash, then dust generously with sugar.
• Bake until puffed and golden brown all over, about 18 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

CHEESE DANISH PASTRIES (DELKELEKH)

Steps:

• For the dough: In bowl of an electric mixer, combine yeast and milk and allow to sit for a few minutes. Stir in eggs, butter, sour cream, sugar, salt and flour. Mix well until dough turns into a ball. Transfer to a covered container and allow to rest for 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight.
• For the filling: In bowl of an electric mixer, combine farmer's cheese, sour cream, sugar, flour, vanilla, egg yolk and lemon zest. Mix well. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until needed, up to 24 hours.
• For assembly: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out dough into a rectangle 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 4-by-4-inch squares. Spoon about 1 tablespoon filling into center of each square. Pick up corners of each square and press points together.
• Arrange pastries on baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Brush with egg mixture. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool and serve as is or sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

CHEESE DANISH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup/32 grams confectioners' sugar, the egg yolk, the salt and the vanilla until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a resealable plastic bag; set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12 1/2-inch square. Trim 1/4 inch off each edge. Cut the dough into nine 4-inch squares. Brush the corners of each square with a bit of the beaten egg, then fold each corner into the center and press down gently. Transfer the squares to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets.
• Cut the tip off one corner of the filled plastic bag so you have a 1/2-inch hole. Use the bag to pipe the cheese filling onto the center of each dough square. Loosely cover the pastries with plastic wrap and let stand until slightly puffed, about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Remove the plastic and gently brush the top and sides of the dough with the beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Continue to bake until pastries are puffed and deep golden brown, another 6 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 1 cup/128 grams confectioners' sugar and the milk. Let the Danish cool slightly on the sheet then drizzle with the glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MANA'EESH (J)GIBNEH - CHEESE PASTRIES

Steps:

• Dissolve the sugar in the ¼ cup water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let ferment and bubble.
• In a large bowl combine the yeast, flour, salt, olive oil, egg, and warm milk. Knead until a soft dough is formed. Dough will be slightly sticky, so always make sure your hands have a little olive oil on them.
• Lightly grease the same bowl with olive oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave in a warm dry place for at least 2 hours, until doubled.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Take fist-fulls of the dough and on a floured surface roll out into small balls. Let rest for 5 minutes. Flatten each dough ball into 4" disc, about ½" thick.
• Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and top with cheese. Repeat with remaining dough and cheese.
• Bake until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Serve warm.

MY FAMILY MANAEESH -- ARABIC/ISLAMIC CHEESE SPREAD FOR BREAD

Steps:

• Combine all ingerdients and let sit 2-4 hours for flavor to develop.
• This can be made and spread on bread as is though is most commonly and traditionally placed onto the surface of a pita-type dough and pushed into the surface before baking. PLEASE DO NOT use feta cheese. It is not used and is far too salty for this.
• In Morocco we do not see pita breas so we use a bread like "MY ROUGH KHOUBZ" which is posted here on zaar.
• The thyme is used in some countries in up to 2 teaspoons It depends on your own tolerance for it and I like it as a forward flavor but not to overpower.
• You can use stor bought pita bread and place the cheese onto the top of that, pushing slightly so it stays on and bake in a 375 degree oven until hot, approximately 8-10 minutes.
• This makes approximately 2 cups of cheese mix.